Back to the present, because the 2016 Vuelta is our present, I sincerely hope that the same thing happens again. We don't care who makes it to the highest step on the podium, but if I can make a wish now, eight months before the grand departure, I would like for the excitement and equality to increase as the stages progress and, finally, I would love for the climb to the Alto de Aitana to really decide who will win the next edition of the Vuelta.
Focusing on the new itinerary, we return to Galicia, a land that has always treated us incredibly well every time we have been there. In 2016, we will spend an entire week there and visit all four of its provinces. We will truly enjoy Galicia. We will also return to such spectacular locations as Ezaro and visit other unprecedented places such as San Andres de Teixido, a setting that is open to the world where the Cantabrian and Atlantic seas combine their great beauty. The province of Ourense, the place chosen to commence this new adventure, will allow us to enjoy its thermal waters, something truly unique for those lucky enough to experience them.
We will repeat the climbs to la Camperona, el Naranco, the Lakes of Covadonga and Peña Cabarga – four important days that will surely give us an indication as to what may eventually happen. Our return to Bilbao and the unprecedented climb to the Col d'Aubisque are two finales I'm particularly excited about. The first because the fans in the Basque Country are possibly different to the rest and the second because taking the race places we have never been to yet is always an incentive.
Aragon will serve to join the Pyrenees with the Autonomous Community of Valencia that will be particularly prominent this year. There will be two stages in Castellon, including one that will end at the Alto Mas de la Costa that will be a pleasant surprise for all those who have never been to that mountain pass. The third-last day's time trial and Aitana, that once again forms part of the itinerary, will make a total of five days in the Autonomous Community of Valencia. This second-last stage will determine the final winner. In total there will be ten high-altitude finales that will combine to fulfil the 71st edition of our race as well as a dream for every one of us who support it, year after year.
